Friend or Foe?

Why do I enjoy kicking Knicks fans in the balls? Well, for starters, my team was steamrolling into the playoffs on a franchise-record winning streak until our franchise center went down for the season with a foot injury, so the world must feel my wrath.

But seriously, it's not Knicks fans' fault their hometown team is run by incompetent brainfarts of a president/GM/owner, or that the team can't possibly be competitive - even in the weaker East - until 2010 at least.

It's also not their fault that Stephon Marbury, New York's supposed "hometown savior", has fizzled out as a factor in the storied franchise's future resurgence. "Starbury" is currently out of commission while he "recovers" from ankle surgery (that he was all to elated to have in the first place), and reports have him banned from MSG. Who would have thought that would be the ending to the story that started in 2004 when he was brought back to the Big Apple by mentor-turned-nemesis Isiah Thomas?

Well, Timberwolves, Nets, and Suns fans might have had a clue. Marbury managed to burn just about every bridge (even the Brooklyn Bridge) he's crossed. Now he gets paid $20 million this year and next (if he isn't traded, which is likely because no team wants him) to watch a team from afar that doesn't want him around. And he's supposed to be their best player. Wow.

The NBA is moving to a point where team cancers aren't all that welcome in locker rooms these days, especially with squads with good young players.

But the question I need an answer to is: on a team that features Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry, how dysfunctional do you have to be that no one wants YOU around?

How To Fix the Knicks

Yes, ladies and gents, Isiah Thomas is still the head coach of your Knicks.

Look on the bright side, at least you don't have Eli and Coughlin to kick around anymore.

But I have good news for you: Zeke staying as coach of the 'Bockers might actually be a good thing. (We'll get back to that.)

New York's problem isn't with Isiah the coach, it's Isiah the team president/GM who needs to get whacked. He's the one who brought in every member of this horrible roster.

How horrible is this roster? Any 14-year-old NBA Live or NBA 2K veteran who has ever guided a virtual team through franchise mode can tell you this group would never work.

Let's start with the obvious transgressions:

- Their "star" player is Stephon "Teams get better after I leave" Marbury, who is currently living up to his moniker. He just underwent voluntary surgery (which may have been an excuse for an early vacation and a chance to escape from New York). Of course, the team played its most inspired stretch of basketball this season. Did I mention that Steph is owed almost $42 million through 2009?

Solution: Buy him out, trade him to Miami, trade him to Italy, whatever. But as Minnesota, New Jersey, and Phoenix (and now NY) has taught us: getting rid of Marbury is the first step in the right direction.

- Zach Randolph just isn't working out in the Big Apple. Losing, plus an unpredictable rotation plus Eddy Curry haven't exactly resulted in the dominance many expected from Z-Bo when he was brought there last summer. Plus, there's only room for one overweight New York big man who is allergic to defense. Which brings us to....

- Eddy Curry. Give him a year or two to prove he can develop any semblance of consistency and actually get more rebounds than a 5'9 guard...or get rid of him too. Ooh, maybe the Knicks can get back one of those first rounders that they mortgaged their future to get Curry.

Let's do a quick rundown of the rest of the Knicks' roster:

- Jamal Crawford. He seems like he could be a good player on a good team, until you realize that he's played the most games in the NBA without playing in a postseason game. He's a gunner with horrible shot selection and no idea how to play team basketball (though you can argue it's because he's played for the Bulls and Knicks), but he has heart.

- David Lee. New York's best role player, though inconsistent minutes have certainly caused a lack of enthusiasm. Either trade him to a good team for a first rounder or keep him as a building block.

- Quentin Richardson. No use to any team without good ball movement and great passers. Absolutely no use.

- Renaldo Balkman. Should be the only "untouchable" player on this roster. Every good team has someone like him.

- Mardy Collins. Good versatile backup guard. Should be kept unless a (cheap) upgrade comes along.

- Everybody else should be traded, bought out or released as quickly as possible. Quite frankly, this team needs to be blown up. They should've been blown up back in 2003 when Thomas first got hired. Unlike the Yankees, the Knicks have a salary cap and it's a lot tougher to keep adding big names with big contracts to improve. And you can't buy out every horrible contract on the roster. Sooner or later, you're just spending a lot of money to make up for spending a lot of money.

The Knicks need to immediately start planning for the future. Keep young guys like Balkman, Lee, Nate, and Collins and try to unload contracts for 1st round picks. Either buy out Marbury or let him walk next summer and find a point guard, ASAP.

Fortunately for New York, they actually get to keep their number one pick this summer. Since there will be no first pick in 2009 (barring a trade), try to get multiple picks this June and make them count. Depending on how the balls bounce (no homo), go after a young, exciting point guard (Memphis' Derrick Rose, Texas' D.J. Augustin, North Carolina's Tywon Lawson) or a young, athletic big man (Kansas State's Michael Beasley, Syracuse's Donte Green. Then you'll have the base for a future.

In 2-3 years, after they've gotten off some horrendous contracts (Jerome James?), drafted well, and haven't added any more long-term money they don't need, New York could transform into a youthful, exciting squad ripe for a 2010 offseason that could bring King James to the Garden. And if Isiah follows those rules, he should get what he rightfully deserves - fired.

After all, why make a good GM and coach suffer through Zeke's mess.

Don't Confuse Me With Marbury Out This Bitch

About the lack of posting around here, trying to find time to write a well thought-out post these days is like trying to find time to study exactly what it is that's wrong with the New York Knicks.

Speaking of....

So Isiah Lord and the Knicks fined Stephon Marbury today for missing last night's shootaround and game against the Phoenix Suns, which they went on to lose by the way - how surprising. There was speculation that Steph left the team and headed back to NYC because he heard that Zeke was benching him and limiting his minutes. Others say he went AWOL (or, he went Steph. Whichever way you want to put it) because the Knicks are discussing a long overdue buyout or trade to ship the PG (SG?) out of the Big Apple.

(Me personally, I think he left because he didn't want the embarrassment of facing yet another team that got better almost as soon as they parted with him, but I digress.)

Who knows? But, all I know is that whatever team Marbury is considered the leader of, will forever underachieve. Or just not be any kind of good. Those are the only options. The worst part is that he's due $42 million over the next two years, when his contract expires in the summer of 2009. (Helllloooooo Italy!)

Don't get me wrong, I used to be a huge Starbury fan. He was even one of my favorite players up until the 2004 playoffs, when I realized that it was not his teammates or his coaches or the weather; it was him. He's just not a winner. And he's definitely not a winning point guard.

He squandered his one true chance to be part of a building block to a winning team, in Minnesota, and he ruined that to be the overpaid man in New Jersey. Stephon was never able to do anything with the talent in Jersey (you know, the same group that Jason Kidd, who was traded straight up for Marbury, took to the NBA Finals two straight years) and was shipped to Phoenix for the aforementioned Kidd.

After one playoff season in the desert (2003) and a horrible start to the '03-04 season, he got his ultimate wish: to be traded to the Knicks. It seemed like a great idea at the time; kid from Coney Island, Brooklyn comes back home to play point guard for one of the most storied franchises in history, and he was brought back by one of the greatest point guards in history (Thomas) to play for one of the greatest pgs ever (then coach Lenny Wilkins).

Sure, everyone overlooked his monstrous contract (especially Thomas, who seems to do that pretty often) and the fact that he never made his teammates better, and they all enjoyed the lovefest. The Knicks were relevant again, and winning.

Now, it's 2007 and the Knicks have their most talented team on paper in 13 years. Problem is, they don't have the on-court/off-court leader to maximize that talent. If they are discussing a buyout for Marbury, their first thought should go to building cap space to make a run at Kobe Bryant in a year, Chris Paul or Deron Williams (both of which would catapult New York into elite status) when their rookie deals are through, or LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in the big 2010.

As long as Stephon Marbury is not on that team, I'll definitely be rooting for them.

Be Careful What You Wish For

So the big news of the day is that Lakers owner Jerry Buss is open to trading Kobe Bryant. This, of course, re-heats the Kobe trade rumors that started up when KB demanded (albeit softly) to be traded back in May.

Wonder what changed Doc Buss' mind. Buss has made it all too clear since the spring that Bryant was untouchable and would not be traded. The lesson, as always, is that no player in the NBA is untouchable. No one.

In my opinion, Buss looks at the fact that the options for improving the team are limited, what with the Lakers being over the cap by almost $15 million and no tradeable assets outside of Kobe, Lamar Odom, and the unfulfilled potential that is Andrew Bynum. Seriously, who else would you want off that roster?

That's the real reason the Lakers didn't get Kevin Garnett or Jermaine O'Neal (not yet at least), and in the latter case, O'Neal would not have vaulted L.A. to the upper elite in the West and would have handcuffed the Lakers payroll even worse than it is now, meaning they would have been stuck with Kobe and J.O. and no one else. That may work in Boston this year, not in the Western Conference.

Add to the fact of Kobe's unhappiness, and you can somewhat see how Buss might be a little ready to grant Kobe's wish. Doc and Kobe know this team is not any good and can't get any better outside of the draft (which is a great time to mention the fact that the Lakers draft horribly), so the best option would be to find the best available deal and let Kobe go while venturing straight into rebuilding mode.

The bigger issue here (which I discussed back in August) is that there is absolutely no place for Kobe to go. He missed his chance to sign with a talented team on the rise when he resigned with the Lakers instead of signing with the neighbor Clippers in '04. New homes for Bryant are insufficient at this point:

1. The Chicago Bulls, Kobe's preferred destination, have the pieces to get him, but it would take enough players to get him that would gut their core and leave them with a unit very similar to what the Lakers have now. One pro here is that he'll be in the East (the same East in which the one-man show that was the Cavs made it to the Finals last season).

2. The New York Knicks wouldn't be able to get their heads out of their own asses to make a competent deal for Kobe. I'm befuddled at this franchise (if you wanna call it that). If Allan Houston sucked so bad when you were trying to get rid of him two years ago, why even entertain the thought of bringing him back to the team. I'm sorry, I'm ranting.

3. Kobe reportedly would like to go to Dallas (which would literally scare the shit out of me as a Rockets fan), which would really work. The Mavs would only have to part with Erick Dampier and Jason Terry, according to ESPN's NBA Trade Machine. Dampier is an overpaid disappointment and Terry was an underachieving 'tweener last postseason. The Mavericks wouldn't have to gut their 67-win squad to pit Kobe with Dirk and Josh Howard, and they'll finally have a crunch-time killer. (On second thought, let's make sure this doesn't happen, please. PLEASE!!!)

The question is, would the Lakers want to take back two large contracts for two players that have no chance at being impact stars in the long term? Hmmm.

I'm of the belief that once it was realized that Kobe could only take this D-league roster so far and that Doc Buss and his sons were prostituting the prime of the league's best player, Kobe no longer was the untouchable star people said he was. No one is "untouchable". Shaq got traded for god's sake. Wilt, A.I., etc.

MJ was forced out of Chicago, people. It's not impossible for somebody to ship Kobe's bratty ass out of town to improve the franchise in the long term.

T.O.N.Y. (Tool Of New York)

Funny thing happened as I was browsing the internets before opening the package on the new NBA Live '08 game: I checked out ESPN.com only to see that Isiah Thomas sexually harassed Anucha Browne Sanders, according to the jury.

This puts an end to another chapter in the embarrassing New York Knicks offseason, and another chapter in the walking comedy novel that is Isiah Thomas' career in the Big Apple.

So, how does Zeke come back from this? He's been about as horrible a GM as you'll ever see, making the most unexplainable trades with absolutely no regard for the salary cap or actual team chemistry. His moves have further crippled the Knicks' payroll while the team's record has not reflected the high salary.

Sexual harrassment set aside, it's surprising that Isiah still has a job in New York, better yet the NBA. It hurts me to say this, considering he's one of my favorite pro athletes of all-time, but he truly sucks as an executive post-Hall of Fame career.

Of course, he drafts well, always has. As the Raptors' GM, he took Damon Stoudamire in 1995 and watched him win Rookie of the Year, and then took Marcus Camby the next year. In New York, he drafted Renaldo Balkman amid boos from the MSG crowd. Balkman surprised a lot of people with his hardworking play (though offensively his defencicies are highly amusing).

But the deals he's made since being hired in 2003 have set the franchise even further back from where former GM Scott Layden left it, which was almost in retarded mode. He traded for Stephon Marbury (cap-killing pg that historically makes teams worse and former teams better), Tim Thomas (cap-killing versatile forward with a penchant for uninspiring play), Quentin Richardson (cap-killing oft-injured 3-pt shooter who gets little open shots because of lack of distributing guards), Jamal Crawford (cap-killing gunner), Zach Randolph (cap-killing double-double guy with absolutely no D), Jalen Rose (cap-killing washed up forward; bought out last season), and signed Jerome James (Why??? James was overpaid by $10 million and never plays).

Notice any trends? Those were all cap-killing moves that had no regard for the Knicks' future. It's like he's out there playing fantasy league basketball or something. NY won't be under the cap (or close to it) until '09, and that's if he doesn't make another horrible trade (and that's if he gets to keep his job).

Isiah should've blown up this team two years ago, but didn't because of the menacing backlash from fans that was sure to ensure. Now, he's faced with another team that looks good on paper, but will struggle gelling with each other. He also has little room to improve the team, with no cap room and a lack of first round picks in upcoming years.

But worst of all, he has a PR nightmare of a sexual harassment suit hanging over his head that further embarrasses himself and the Knicks organization (if you want to call it that), and a short leash just turned into a noose. Of course, don't be surprised to see Thomas hang himself.

The Knicks Are Burning!

It's been a very hot past four months in the Big Apple. Of course, it wasn't the hot summer Cam'ron promised it'd be, but it was still on fire in New York.

The Yankees started off slow, then exploded upon the American League and now are on the cusp of taking over the AL East, which is an annual event in the Bronx. The New York Giants, by all means, suck. The Jets lost Chad Pennington (another annual event), and their coach proved to be a snitch after getting blasted by the New England Patriots in Week 1. Shit, ESPN even released a mini-series called "The Bronx Is Burning", detailing the Yankees' 1977 World Series season.

But no team has provided more public fodder than the Knicks, who missed the playoffs in the lackluster Eastern Conference and have endured months of questionable trades, draft choices, and a wacky interview by their best player that wasn't even close to the wackiest thing that occurred in Knicksville.

Since the ending of the 2006-2007 NBA regular season, the New York Knicks have managed to stay in the news, and at the tip of people's tongues (sometimes, literally). This proves to be extremely remarkable given the fact that the 'Bockers were 16 games under .500 and played with the chemistry of a group of guys playing a fifth consecutive pick-up game at the gym. I guess GM/Head coach Isiah Thomas and the Knicks decided that the only way to get back to elite status was by making themselves more interesting to the public.

During June's draft, Thomas traded Steve Francis and Channing Frye to the Trail Blazers for Zach Randolph, Fred Jones, and Dan Dickau. The deal seemed perfect for the Knicks at the time, until you realize that Randolph further cripples the Knicks' payroll (he's scheduled to make $13 million in '07-'08) and basically has the same game as Eddy Curry, which will be interesting seeing as though they both prod around the lane, have no range outside of 12 feet, and play not a lick of inside defense. But it does make the Knicks more interesting, right?

About a week later, guard Stephon Marbury appeared on the NYC show, "Mike'd Up", as a guest and proved to the world that he was indeed crazy. No more words can do that interview justice, so I'll just post it.



And, to top the summer off, the sexual harassment trial against Thomas and Madison Square Garden started earlier this month. A former Knicks employee claimed that Thomas called her a bitch on numerous occasions, asked her to go off-site for what was believed to be a sexual encounter, and said he loved her. To put it plainly, Isiah is fucking up. Seriously, after further screwing up the Knicks roster, making horrible trades that never had the salary cap in mind, coaching the team out of playoff contention, and then this, I'm concerned that Thomas physically threatened owner James Dolan to keep his job. I'm just saying.

On top of that, Marbury testified that he slept with one of the plaintiff's interns in the backseat of his car, amazing considering he's married and all. Of course, that led to this:



However, the Knicks' summer wasn't all that bad. Nate Robinson took home MVP honors at the NBA Vegas Summer League, and Randolph will get New York 25 and 10 next year in the East, even if he and Curry will get in each other's way all season. And the Knicks might even get an old friend back for cheap, old and washed up as he may be.

That's it, though. Everything else is chaos and a disaster waiting to happen. The Knicks may be better than last year, and they may not be better. But, one thing's for sure, they will be interesting to watch.

Is It Only August? Mid-Summer Eastern Conference Preview

With all the movings and shakings going down on the Eastern side of the map, most notably a certain future Hall of Famer migrating to Boston this week, how does the Leastern Conference shake up? Who's in the playoffs? Who's out? Who's going to the Finals? Who's back in the lottery?

The recent trade of Kevin Garnett to the Celtics (along with Ray Allen being traded to Boston in June) has not only transformed the identity of the Celtic franchise, its added another team into the realm of NBA competitive squads. The league has suffered for years (since Michael Jordan's retirement - the Chicago one; Washington never happened) because a lack of real competition from the East (save for 2004 champion Detroit Pistons). Boston (KG, Allen), New York (Zach Randolph), Charlotte (Jason Richardson), and New Jersey (Jamaal Magloire) have made significant improvements to their roster since the end of last season.

I know it's early August but it wouldn't hurt to give an early Eastern Conference preview.

Let's start with a profile of each team:

-Atlanta: GM Billy King was blessed with the almighty gift of common sense this summer, finally realizing that having a good point guard usually improves the status of your team. The Hawks took Texas A&M senior Acie Law IV with the 11th pick after taking Florida forward Al Horford with the 3rd pick. That gives the Hawks two of the best players in a really good draft. Atlanta features a lot of young talent along with veteran star Joe Johnson. Young swingman Josh Smith has blossomed into one of the league's most promising (and exciting) players. Expect the Hawks to make a late playoff push in 2008.

-Boston: Even those living under a rock know about the huge, 7 for 1 player, blockbuster deal that brought Garnett to Beantown. What everybody doesn't know is what GM Danny Ainge will do about the rest of the Celtics roster, which features much of nothing. Tony Allen (an athletic fourth-year swingman) is coming off major ACL surgery; Second-round picks Glen "Big Baby" Davis and Gabe Pruitt aren't ready to contribute on a conference finals favorite; and the recent signing of Eddie House isn't really Rasheed Wallace coming to Motown a few years back. Ainge and co. will have to fill out the roster with some cheap veteran help with no more trade assets outside of KG/Allen/Pierce.

-Charlotte: Michael Jordan (Bobcats President) made a bold move during June's draft, bringing in Warriors swingman Jason Richardson in exchange for the number 8 pick (Brandon Wright). But it was exactly the bold move that transforms a team from a young, promising playoff hopeful to a young, dangerous playoff sleeper. The Cats are already loaded with proven young winners in guard Raymond Felton, forward Sean May (who were teammates on North Carolina's 2005 championship team) and center Emeka Okafor (MOP of the 2004 Final Four while at Connecticut), and the addition of Richardson's proven scoring will only elevate the status of the squad. An improved Adam Morrison could make Charlotte that much more potent.

-Chicago: The Bulls bring back the exact same team as last year's second-round exit group, which could be a good and bad thing. Chi-town will benefit from the continuity of having the same proven young players with center Ben Wallace in his second season with the team. But the Bulls missed out on adding a low-post scorer to go along with their tough, scrappy defense. They did add Joakim Noah (Tyrus Thomas 2.0?) and Aaron Gray through the draft, but Zach Randolph or Garnett would have helped a lot more.

-Cleveland: The Lebrons made a surprising trip to the Finals last year, but now find the Eastern Conference road a tad bit (re: very, very much) tougher. The Cavs have been dangling forward Drew Gooden as trade bait, hopefully trying to find a point guard (Mike Bibby?). There's also the issue of restricted free agent Anderson Varaejo, who might be let go if his salary demands grow too high.

-Detroit: Last year's Eastern Conference finalists are a year older (and maybe still a little shook from Lebron's Game 5 shallacking). Yes, this veteran squad is experienced, but they can only hold off the younger, hungrier Bulls for so long. The Pistons should benefit from an invigoration of young bench talent (Ronald Stuckey, Jason Maxiell, Amir Johnson, Aaron Afflalo).

-Indiana: With so many teams improving in the East, somebody has to go backwards. Ladies and gentleman: meet your backwards team. The Pacers have made no significant changes (save for Jim O'Brien replacing Rick Carlisle), did nothing in the draft, and even threw their best player in multiple trade rumors. Another season with Jamaal Tinsley at the point is a bad one. Larry Bird and Donnie Walsh need to blow this thing up like, yesterday.

-Miami: The '06 champs suffered from a lack of health and youth last year, losing center Shaquille O'Neal for most of the season. Pat Riley and co. are somewhere in between veteran-laced playoff squad and transition team that needs blow things up a bit. One thing is for sure (besides the fact that the Heat are capped out), whatever Miami does, it needs to be done around superstar Dwyane Wade. The Heat grabbed Ohio State freshman Daquean Cook in the draft, and will hope he can develop into a contributing player by mid-season. And they also lost out on big-name free agent pgs this summer (Mo Williams, Steve Francis, Steve Blake). Might be a tough season on South Beach.

-Milwaukee: Lots of good news in Wisconsin: Free agent point guard Maurice Williams spurned offers to play in warmer, big-name cities and re-signed with the Bucks, and guard Michael Redd is now healthy. That's about it as far as positives go. First round pick Yi Jianlian's people are vehemently trying to get him to another city and the situation is publicly playing out in ugly fashion. Also, the conference in which they barely made the playoffs in back in 2006 now may be too-filled up come April to include them.

-New Jersey: The Nets are another team walking the veteran-early-round-flame-out/blow-it-up line very closely. The team re-signed Vince Carter this summer and added free agent big man Jamaal Magloire, who won't make them great, but will make them better than they were last year. Jason Kidd, who I still think is the best point guard in the NBA, is getting older and would have benefitted from GM Rod Thorn taking a risk on trading for Pacers forward/center Jermaine O'neal, who would/could have transformed the Nets into a Finals contender.

-New York: The NBA's real-life version of a fantasy league team made some moves to mixed results. Isiah Thomas traded for double-double machine Zach Randolph (getting rid of Steve Francis' massive contract and Channing Frye) during the draft. The move would've been received better if Randolph and Knicks center Eddy Curry didn't play the same exact style (along with the porous inside defense). Thomas also grabbed in the first round Depaul forward Wilson Chandler, who may or may not be the same person as last season's first-rounder Renaldo Balkman. Should be another entertaining, up-and-down chemistry mess in the Big Apple.

-Orlando: If you consider greatly overpaying for a second-rate player, losing an asset that you gave up a first-rounder for for nothing, then having a high-profile college coach leave his school for your team than change his mind within a day a good offseason, then the Orlando Magic had a great summer. The Magic might have temporarily improved their team while almost permanently killing their future. Rashard Lewis for $126 million? Horrible. Darko for nothing? Stupid. They still have a good shot at the postseason, but without any assets to add on to Lewis/Dwight Howard, the team you see today will probably be the same team you see underachieve the next few years.

-Philadelphia: Philly has been relatively quiet this summer outside of the draft. Well, maybe that's good considering GM Billy King hasn't overpaid any role players or destroyed the Sixers' cap even more. So, hey, you can't complain. Philly did pick up the uber-athletic Thaddeous Young out of Georgia Tech with the 12th pick, but he'll need a little time (and a few Andre Igoudala injuries) before he'll be ready to contribute. The Sixers need a big splash. Either a big trade that brings some impact players in or a high draft pick to be used on an exciting rookie. The team seems like it is going nowhere, and that's never good.

-Toronto: The Raptors were a surprise playoff team last season, thanks to franchise forward Chris Bosh and point guard T.J. Ford. Of course, they're lack of a halfcourt offense was their downfall in the playoffs. The Raps added Miami Heat shooter Jason Kapono this summer to complete the Phoenix Suns imitation. Toronto is still a playoff lock, they just need more muscle and defensive intensity to take the step to serious contender.

-Washington: The run-and-gun Wiz had probably the worst luck of anyone not involved with the Celtics franchise in 2007. They lost their top 3 players for extended periods throughout the season and promptly got swept in the first round by Cleveland, despite the false hope the lack of urgency the Cavs provided in all four games. The Wizards drafted guard Nick Young out of USC to go along with the three-headed scoring monster of Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, and Antawn Jamison. If they can all stay healthy, and get so much needed defensive presence, the Wizards should join the already crowded East playoff picture.

PLAYOFF TEAMS:
Detroit, Cleveland, Boston, Chicago, Toronto, Miami, New Jersey, Charlotte

FINALS SQUAD:
Boston

Tomorrow, we take on the Western Conference.